Digital content management system and apparatus

• US 8,448,254 B2
• Filed: 11/01/2010
• Issued: 05/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Piracy Protection LLC (LF Capital Partners, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intarsia Software LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Saito, Makoto
• Primary Examiner(s): LEMMA, SAMSON B
• Application Number:
  US12/917,184
• Publication Number:
  US 20110047626A1
• Time in Patent Office: 932 Days
• Field of Search: 726/26, 705 51- 52, 705/59, 380/201
• US Class Current: 726/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/109 by using specially-adapted hardware at the client
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2211/007 Encryption, En-/decode, En-/decipher, En-/decypher, Scramble, (De-)compress
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2211/008 Public Key, Asymmetric Key, Asymmetric Encryption
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2107 File encryption
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/00 Payment architectures, schemes or protocols apparatus for performing or posting payment transactions G07F7/08, G07F19/00; electronic cash registers G07G1/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/06 Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1235 with control of digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/363 with the personal data of a user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3823 combining multiple encryption tools for a transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3829 involving key management
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0866 by active credit-cards adapted therefor G07F7/1008 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1016 Devices or methods for securing the PIN and other transaction-data, e.g. by encryption arrangements for secret communication, see H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0442 wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply asymmetric encryption, i.e. different keys for encryption and decryption cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for public-key encryption H04L9/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0464 using hop-by-hop encryption, i.e. wherein an intermediate entity decrypts the information and re-encrypts it before forwarding it
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/062 for key distribution, e.g. centrally by trusted party cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key distribution involving a central third party H04L9/0819
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2541 Rights Management protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10; security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4367 Establishing a secure communication between the client and a peripheral device or smart card
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44204 : Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44236 : Monitoring of piracy processes or activities protecting computer platforms against harmful, malicious or unexpected behaviour or activities using intrusion detection and counter measures G06F21/566; computer virus detection and handling G06F21/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/443 : OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4627 : Rights management associated to the content security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 : for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/835 : Generation of protective data, e.g. certificates protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8358 : involving watermark protecting executable software by watermarking G06F21/16; image watermarking in general G06T1/0021; watermarks inserted in still images for transmission purposes H04N1/32144; inserting watermarks during video coding H04N19/467
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 : Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/1675 : Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58

Abstract

There are provided a digital content management apparatus which further embodies a digital content management apparatus used with a user terminal, and a system which protects the secrets of a digital content. The system and the apparatus are a real time operating system using a micro-kernel, which is incorporated in the digital content management apparatus as an interruption process having high priority. When a user uses the digital content, whether there is an illegitimate usage or not, is watched by interrupting the usage process. In the case where illegitimate usage is carried out, a warning is given or the usage is stopped. The decryption/re-encryption functions of the digital content management apparatus having the decryption/re-encryption functions are not restricted to the inside of the user apparatus. By providing the decryption/re-encryption functions between the networks, the exchange of secret information between different networks is secured. By using this apparatus for converting a crypt algorithm, information exchange is made possible between systems which adopt different algorithms.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

in response to a forcible interruption of a content use process, a computing system monitoring usage of digital content by the content use process, wherein the forcible interruption is based on an interrupt priority associated with said monitoring; and

in response to determining that the monitored usage of the digital content by the content use process is inconsistent with usage rights associated with the digital content, the computing system prohibiting further usage of the digital content by the content use process;

wherein the computing system includes a hardware processor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said monitoring is performed using a monitoring process, and wherein the interrupt priority associated with said monitoring is an interrupt priority assigned to the monitoring process.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the interrupt priority assigned to the monitoring process is assigned by an operating system.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the operating system is a distributed operating system.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the computing system supplying the monitoring process over a network to a client device on which the content use process is executed, wherein the forcible interruption of the content use process occurs without the client device requesting the forcible interruption.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein said prohibiting further usage is performed in response to determining that the monitored usage of the digital content includes unauthorized transferring of the digital content by the content use process, and wherein the interrupt priority assigned to the monitoring process is higher than an interrupt priority assigned to the content use process.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said prohibiting further usage of the digital content by the content use process includes prohibiting further usage at a client device.

8. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor; and

memory having instructions stored thereon that are executable by the apparatus to cause the apparatus to;

in response to an interruption of a content use process by an operating system, monitor usage of digital content by the content use process; and

in response to determining that the monitored usage of the digital content is inconsistent with usage rights associated with the digital content, prohibit further usage of the digital content by the content use process.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the instructions are executable to cause the apparatus to execute the operating system as a preemptive multitasking operating system.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the instructions are executable as a subsystem of the operating system to cause the apparatus to monitor the usage of the digital content by the content use process.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the instructions are executable as a monitoring process to cause the apparatus to interrupt the content use process based on the monitoring process having an interrupt priority that is higher than an interrupt priority of the content use process.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the instructions are executable to cause the apparatus to monitor the usage of the digital content on a computing system that is coupled to the apparatus via a network.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the operating system is a distributed operating system, wherein the apparatus is configured to send the instructions executable to monitor usage of the digital content over a network to a computing device, and wherein the sent instructions are executable to cause the computing device to monitor usage of the digital content at the computing device.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the operating system is a distributed operating system, and wherein the apparatus is configured to receive the instructions executable to monitor usage of the digital content from a server.

15. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the instructions are executable to cause the apparatus to prohibit the further usage of the digital content in response to determining that monitored editing, copying, storing, or transferring of the digital content is inconsistent with the usage rights associated with the digital content.

16. An article of manufacture including a non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon that are executable by a computing system to cause the computing system to execute a watch process that monitors usage of digital content by a forcibly interrupted content use process, wherein the watch process has a higher interrupt priority than an interrupt priority of the content use process.

17. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the instructions are executable to further cause the computing system to prohibit further usage of the digital content by the content use process in response to determining, using the watch process, that the monitored usage of the digital content by the content use process is inconsistent with usage rights associated with the digital content.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein the instructions are executable to further cause the computing system to generate, in response to the determining, a warning that the monitored usage is prohibited.

19. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein instructions are executable to cause the computing system to monitor usage of decrypted digital copyright data.

20. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein instructions are executable to cause the computing system to monitor the usage without affecting the manner in which the content use process accesses the digital content.